Shirou glanced at the walls around him.
The meeting ended many hours ago, the council deciding to reconvene the next day to discuss the final verdict.
Despite Shirou's attempted efforts to convince the council, Danzo was able to dissuade them from releasing him. He was simply more valuable to be kept in captivity.
That was fine with Shirou. He didn't need them anymore. Not after achieving his intended goal.
Jiraiya strengthened the seal on him after the demonstrations, cutting off his supply of mana. But Shirou managed to extend the meeting long enough to build a tiny reserve, enough for a few spells.
Shirou reviewed his escape plan for the fifth time, making sure he calculated each move.
First, escape. Simple enough. Hiraishin solved that problem. Second? Find a way to remove the prisoner garb and the seals locking away his prana. Escape was meaningless if his most powerful tool was locked away from him. Third?
Travel to Amegakure.
Things should be a little more convenient once he was out of Konoha's range. Thanks to them, he was officially dead to the world. He learned from the meeting that Konoha took samples of his blood, using Orochimaru's research facilities to grow parts of his body and showing them as proof of his death.
If there was a time to attack the Gedo Mazo, it was now.
But time was not on his side.
Shirou slowly went through his aria, boosting the connection between him and his reality marble to strengthen the product. Blue wisp-like energy wafted from his hands, shaping itself into a uniquely shaped weapon.
The Yondaime's Tri-pronged kunai, carrying the Hiraishin seal.
Shirou grinned as the tool landed in the palm of his hand.
He had been out for more than a month. Precious time he could've used to sneak his way to the Gedo Mazo statue.
Experience poured into his mind, Shirou tracing the expertise of the owner. Locations of different Hiraishin seals appeared in his mind. Shirou picked the furthest one in the direction of Ame and activated the technique.
Instantly, Shirou flashed away.
…
…
…
When Shirou landed on his feet, the first thing that assaulted him was the sense of vertigo. He had braced himself for the sudden movement through space but wasn't used to it. Tobi's form of teleportation didn't have the same effect as the Hiraishin. Shirou lost his balance and collapsed on the ground like a sack of potatoes.
"Ughhh…never try new things on the fly…ever."
It took a few minutes for Shirou to recover from nausea, before rolling to a sitting position to study his surroundings. When he traced The Hiraishin, Shirou learned to use the abilities of the weapon and its wielder, but not the knowledge with it. This allowed him to grasp the inherent "feeling" where each Hiraishin seal was, but only felt where they were. It didn't tell him what locations they were in. So, Shirou only picked the one furthest in the direction of Amegakure.
Shirou's eyes traced up the massive tree foliage around him. Looks like the Hiraishin seal he picked wasn't that far away from Konoha, judging from the nature of the forest around him. Not good, nor bad. Definitely far better than teleporting into one Konoha facility by accident.
He didn't want to imagine how badly his escape could've been if he didn't prepare to jump across multiple seals in his calculations.
Shirou released the projection of the Yondaime's kunai, then destroyed the Hokage's own waypoint, cutting off any chance of the Hokage to flash right on top of him. Then he picked up a random rock, modifying one corner into a sharp edge and jerking it across his clothes, cutting the fabric and breaking the seals on them. They glowed for a short moment as the last vestiges of chakra powering them were released into the atmosphere.
Like a refreshing meal, Shirou felt his body surge with prana, electrifying his senses while also filling his body with the sensation of completeness. The large hole that his locked magic left, returned as a lake brimming with life and energy. Shirou took in a few deep breathes to acclimatize himself to the rush.
Immediately, prana surged through his limbs, Shirou reinforcing them to sprint past the undergrowth. He had never been a ninja, much less taught by one. He heard of their feats, like running on trees and water, but Shirou never learned those techniques, much less knew how to begin.
What he did have, was the experience from his first world. Which meant he had some knowledge about avoiding attention, losing trackers, and whatnot.
Once Shirou was on the road to Ame, he would be able to learn more about the situation.
Using reinforced eyes, Shirou spotted a road far in the distance. Using it as a reference, he would run parallel to the path to avoid the civilian traffic, while maintaining a somewhat faster speed. If the world truly believed he was dead, then playing along would help him stay under the radar.
Setting his eyes towards Ame, Shirou could finally make some progress on his goal.
The Gedo Mazo.
"What are your thoughts? The rest of you were silent during the meeting." Minato asked the group.
"I believe him."
Minato looked at the toad elder in the room. Fukusaku had attended, joining Jiraiya during their observation of the meeting between Shirou and the council. He wasn't the only summon to come, Katsuyu and Manda, the respective summons of Tsunade and Orochimaru had attended as well.
A few other trusted people were in the meeting. Kakashi, Hiruzen, and the three Sannin.
Jiraiya turned an inquisitive eye on the toad who taught him sage arts. "Explain."
"Hisss ssscent carriesss the Mark of Beastsss." Manda hissed, wonder evident in his voice.
Hiruzen blinked. "You mean, the extremely rare gift given by phantasmal beasts?" He had heard of the mark from Enma at one point, but had never heard of anyone receiving it in his life.
Katsuyu nodded, judging from the wave motion her head did. "It seems a higher class of our species has blessed the boy. If so, then we can trust him."
The contracts the shinobi had are with animal summons. They are considered a magical species for their ability to use magic. No one knows exactly how they learned to use magic, but it is believed that their origins came from phantasmal beasts. They are some of the more active members of the Beast Clan in contact with humans.
"But that doesn't mean he is necessarily a good person. Only perhaps to beasts." Hiruzen noted.
The mark was only given to humans who have earned the trust of beasts. That alone did not verify whether they could be trusted when it came to humans. Shirou had been a member of Akatsuki for years, and the organization was more than willing to take on jobs nobody else took.
"It doesn't make any sense. He went through all this effort to escape Akatsuki and inform us about the threat. But now that we doubt his claim, why didn't he argue harder?" Orochimaru pointed out. "I'm not the only one to notice that Shirou was holding back. No doubt even Danzo took that opportunity to reinforce his motive during the meeting."
"If you ask me, it seemed almost as if he wanted it." Jiraiya finished. "So that begs the question. Why wouldn't Shirou explain any further?"
"Jiraiya, you talked with him a few days ago. Did he mention anything of note?" Tsunade asked the sage.
Jiraiya placed a hand on his chin while recalling the meeting. "He didn't want Konoha making a move on Akatsuki. Something about giving us too much information."
"Nor did he go any deeper into proving that the Gedo Mazo exists, only that Akatsuki picked him up for his ability to change objects. If he was a risk, then why keep him?" Tsunade pointed out.
Risk…keeping Shirou…
Jiraiya started connecting the dots. The only things you usually kept close are considered valuable unless…it was risky to leave them alone. As the saying goes, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Shirou could affect the Gedo Mazo, and therefore was a liability.
"It's not a matter about keeping him, it's about the threat he presents to The Gedo Mazo." Jiraiya hummed as he figured out the reason. "They wanted to keep an eye on him. Killing him would've been a waste of good talent they could mold."
"That must be why he and that Akatsuki member fought before his capture. Tobi discovered his betrayal and tried to eliminate him right then." Tsunade clarified her thoughts.
"This brings us to another question. If he didn't want Konoha to move on Akatsuki, then why did he decide to inform us? If we combine his messages and the meeting, all we have is the presumed threat Gedo Mazo, and his ability to change it." Minato summarized the events.
He was a great leader and a strong fighter. But for all his academic intellect, The Namikaze just couldn't connect clues. He was so bad at it, that he didn't even notice Kushina's affection until she decided to take the first step. To this day, he still couldn't understand how everyone else saw it coming from a mile away while he didn't. Kushina still wouldn't let him live it down to this day.
Everyone settled down to quietly simmer the information.
There was a lot to go through.
A rapid knock on the door interrupted the group's contemplative silence.
Minato frowned. He has asked the ANBU to ward anyone off for the time being. He didn't want any visitors disturbing the meeting he held. His seals were still in place, meaning that the outside party wouldn't be able to listen to the topic they were discussing.
Minato opened the door and peeked outside. "Yes? I am very busy right-"
Itachi Uchiha stood before him, the man slightly out of breath. "Hokage-sama, Shirou has escaped."
"Can you repeat that?"
The group of shinobi in front of Minato were the guards on active duty during the escape. They had seen the entire escape during the few seconds it happened.
Right down to every detail.
Behind the Hokage stood the rest of the entourage with a new addition in the form of Itachi. Jiraiya himself carried a particularly shocked expression at the testimony given by the guards. He was sure that he applied the seals correctly after Shirou's presentation. The teen shouldn't have access to his magic after they were activated.
Even more shocking was the method the teen had done it in.
Once again, the five guards narrated how Shirou pulled a tri-pronged kunai out of his clothes, and somehow used the Hiraishin seal on it. The next instant, he had flashed away. There was nothing else to tell, for the entire escape took two seconds, faster than even the guards' ability to open the cell and stop the boy.
After repeating what they witnessed, Minato flashed away. A few moments later, he returned with a frown.
"I just checked all my Hiraishin seals. One of them has been disabled, which means he used that one to escape. If he wore the prisoner garb with seals, then we can assume that the seals weren't effective." Minato would have to study the seals once he had time later. But for now, his priority was recapturing Shirou before anyone found him.
Minato turned to his former student. "Kakashi, how confident are you in your Ninken's ability to track Shirou?"
"Just the scent is enough. Just lead me to the Hiraishin seal he disabled." Kakashi answered, summoning Pakkun beside him. The Ninken appeared in a puff of smoke, sensing Kakashi's serious mood, prepared himself.
"Now hold on. Kakashi won't be enough to catch him. The kid's already as capable as Itachi when he was at that age. Not to mention he's hiding more abilties than we know. I doubt even you would be enough." Jiraiya interrupted, ruffling through his notebook.
It was only a testament to the progression of Shirou's ability. Where once he was captured by Heinrich and Eugen, he was now more than able to escape most, if not all S-ranks.
But that was due to his reality marble and the weapons contained within.
Still, Shirou worked hard on his other abilities, training with the sisters and Lunea in other fields. After all, he needed to hide his real power. In a world of magic like this, you could only imagine how insane a self-containing pseudo-dimension would be. In his old world, it was already considered a magecraft close to True Magic. But was banned because the ability to create a reality marble was connected to inhuman beings, despite being utilized by human legends in the past.
Currently, Shirou was still a long way off from being an S-rank. At the very least, he was a capable A-rank.
"If you're going after him. I need to come with you. My seals aren't as good as Minato's or Kushina's, but I can restrain him temporarily. Long enough for us to bring him back." Jiraiya finished while closing his notebook. If anyone here had the best chance of capturing the boy, it would be down to him, Minato, and Kushina. All three were adept at sealing, having passed Uzushiogakure's sealing exams.
Two of them were obviously out of the equation. Minato had his responsibilities as Hokage, and Kushina was busy taking care of their three children. Both couldn't possibly chase after Shirou. Which left the task to Jiraiya.
"Shirou intends to return to Amegakure. The risk is too high." Orochimaru pointed out. "Jiraiya is good, but with the entirety of Akatsuki and Hanzo focused on the conflict, it would be too dangerous, even for both of you."
"I know that. But this is our only chance to see this threat for ourselves." Jiraiya's eyes glanced at the three guards. Leaking about the Gedo Mazo to people outside would be the last thing he would do. "Minato, I believe the guards may go now. Let them rest for the night."
Taking the hint, Minato dismissed the guards after the hectic events of Shirou's escape. After the guards were gone, Minato gestured for Itachi to come closer.
"I agree with Jiraiya on this. If Shirou had this intent on destroying the Gedo Mazo, chasing him would also give us a chance to see this weapon Akatsuki has. But I want only the best hands for this mission. So, Itachi will be coming with you and Kakashi to Ame. Effective immediately. I will reassign the tasks of both ANBU commanders to others until the three of you return."
Jiraiya nodded. Itachi's ability would only boost the group's stealth with his advanced Mangekyou Sharingan. And if things go south, the three of them working together could secure an escape from either Akatsuki or Hanzo.
Three weeks after the war unfolded, Heinrich's team was tasked with breaking through a flank.
The sisters took the role of vanguards, moving ahead of the revolutionary force. Roughly a hundred or so shinobi were behind them, along with some hired mercenaries. As for Lunea, she was part of the small support team after the sisters, tasked with assisting the duo clear an opening into the enemy lines. Currently, she was huddled with a dozen other veteran ninjas, hiding below the water until an explosion occurred at the designated assault point.
Now!
They jumped out of the water canal into the street and on the roof of an abandoned shop, dashing up the walls into the opening. Shouts turned into screams as the bunkered Amegakure ninja found themselves assaulted by an opposing revolutionary force.
Lunea dived in, claws sharpening as she stabbed through the neck of one unlucky defender, blood splashing on her face before jerking the hand sideways, bisecting the neck in half. She jumped on the next target, the man behind her choking as his ability to breath was lost.
Around her, many of the assault party engaged with the enemy, killing, and dying in return. More explosions occurred ahead of them as the sisters continued piercing deeper into the enemy line, looking to hit the supply depot behind them.
After the initial combat against the more numerous group of enemies, her party of thirteen had been reduced to nine.
"Notify the others to attack. The sisters will cause as much chaos in the middle to draw attention."
"Roger." "Sending the signal now." "I need m-medic." The last answer was choked out by the ninth member of their team, desperately holding his leg.
Or what remained of it after the Amegakure nin tried to blow them both up.
Lunea leaned over to check the wound. It was blown off at the knee. The ninja was obviously too wounded to continue like the rest of them. Not to mention crippled for life.
"Get one of the medics to evacuate this one, and one of you make sure to protect them as they retreat. I'll take over your duties until you return."
"Yes ma'am!"
"Beast Squad my ass. She's more like an angel than a phantasmal beast."
"Not only you, I never thought I would see the day a young child would be my leader."
"She's pretty cute though. Imagine how beautiful she would be in a few years."
Word of a phantasmal beast on their side had spread, but anyone who saw her would refer to her as a small wolf girl instead.
Lunea turned to her team with a confused expression. "What are you all talking about?"
"""Nothing ma'am."""
Lunea's ears twitched. They were speaking in hushed tones, but her ears caught on to the words as if they were spoken at normal volume. What she couldn't understand was why they kept talking about her. Not to mention she heard the word cute. The same word Eugen used to describe her. But unfortunately, Lunea never understood what it meant.
"Let's keep moving."
Lunea jumped off the ledge on the opposite side, followed by six others. One remaining to protect the wounded warrior as she requested.
Fights were beginning around them as the smaller revolutionary force clashed into the loyalist forces. Most of the loyalists were still in chaos, many explosions erupting around them as Heinrich and Eugen peppered their locations with high-explosive projectiles.
Lunea and her group sprinted past falling debris and bodies, moving to regroup with the sisters. Once they reached the two, they would be able to launch an assault on the supply depot, forcing the entire flank to retreat with the loss of supplies.
It took them a few minutes to catch up, making sure to kill pockets of shinobi they came across. Fortunately, they reached the two warships without any further casualties.
"Took you long enough." Eugen grinned at her.
"We don't have as much power as you." Lunea pouted. She and her group had to methodically dissect their way through enemies to conserve energy for the assault on the depot.
Heinrich smiled. The young beast had changed in the past week. Her sister Eugen had worked a miracle, helping Lunea slowly move on from the death of their late teammate.
The girl had become more active again, sometimes even showing some of the bright spirit she carried around. And the revolutionaries loved it, stories of a cute wolf girl spreading throughout the rebellion. Not only Lunea was becoming famous in the revolution, but every member of Akatsuki. Even Tobi and Zetsu, who kept on avoiding the frontline with the rest of them, content to work behind the scenes, were also famous in their own way.
The more famous they became in battle, the more terrified the Amegakure nin became. Unlike Akatsuki who were seen at the frontlines, their leader was nowhere to be found. Hanzo was a fearful leader, hiding behind his army. Most of them hadn't once seen their leader during their lives.
Morale was dropping and with it, the fighting strength of the loyalists.
The problem was that the Amegakure force had an army double that of the revolution, not to mention more skilled and organized.
That was where Akatsuki came in.
"The supply base is a hundred meters ahead of us. If you're backing out now, you can hide here until the reinforcements come." Heinrich asked the rest of the Beast Group.
Beast Group. The support and reinforcement force for their team. Volunteers from the army opted to apply when casualties opened positions for others. Mostly because seeing Akatsuki members in action emboldened the revolutionary fighters. These volunteers were inspired to fight harder, to keep up alongside the powerful, but also beautiful ladies.
Men will always be men.
"Ma'am we wouldn't be part of the Beast Group if we weren't prepared to support you at any moment." Nods came from the other fighters, ready to reinforce the trio of Akatsuki members.
"Thank you. We're beginning in ten seconds." Heinrich and Eugen faced forwards, rearming their batteries for a barrage. The vanguard force silently sat until the countdown ended, followed by the loud sound of the sisters' cannons as they unleashed their shells. Once again, explosions erupted in several areas as the projectiles impacted walls, destroying them and killing many of the enemies running to the battle.
Both girls leapt forwards, falling into the water canal below. They landed with a large splash, then started skating forwards at full speed to reach the base. Cannons reloaded, surging with power as they continued shooting the buildings around them to wreak havoc on the enemy lines. Lunea and her group followed behind the two, sprinting across the water to keep up with the homunculi.
Something wasn't right.
The assault was going too smoothly. Which started to creep up Lunea's nerves. The loyalists normally had a better reaction than this. Not to mention that they were out of proper positions to even respond to an attack.
Almost as if they were intended to fall in the first place.
"Heinrich! Eugen! Something's wrong!" Lunea screamed, her words making the sisters pause momentarily.
Underneath them, invisible to the sisters' radar, and barely visible from their sonar, came a suddenly approaching threat. The only way they even noticed was the sudden unnatural movement of the water beneath.
It was as if something was bursting from the depths, aiming for them.
Both warships jumped backward, suddenly avoiding the giant water construct exploding out of the water.
It was massive, width roughly half the size of the canal they were traversing. Its bulbous shape widened at the top and thinned the further down it went, three arched protrusions connected to the torso, along with an equally large tail.
The beast snapped its jaws, said appendages nearly catching the sisters a few moments prior. Mid-air, the threat was clear for all to see.
It was a giant shark made of water.
Suddenly, both homunculi dodged again, their locations peppered in a shower of fireballs. Fire and water meeting together, producing large amounts of steam.
"Fool. You couldn't even set up a trap properly."
"Heh, funny how yours wasn't much better."
Two men emerged from the depths of the water, arguing with each other. One carried a large sword wrapped in bandages; his appearance more striking than the person beside him. Blue-grey skin, sharp teeth, and weird eyes. The other person seemed relatively normal compared to him, having green pupils surrounded by red irises, and numerous stitches crisscrossing his body.
The sisters quickly recognized the two missing nin.
"Lunea, get everyone and retreat. These guys are too dangerous for you to handle." Heinrich ordered.
"H-huh? But what about the supply depot?"
"No chance of that now. Not with two S-ranks defending it." Eugen explained. She turned to the two men, flashing a flirtatious wink, and smiling at them. "You boys wouldn't let two beautiful ladies pass safely now, would you?"
"No can do, lady. Our employer is going to be pretty pissed if we don't bring your heads on a plate." The shark look-alike grunted while his companion opted to stare back quietly.
Lunea eyed the two men warily. "Who are they? Do we really have to retreat?" She asked the two warships.
"Kisame Hoshigaki and Kakuzu. Both S-ranked missing nins from their respective villages. And yes, none of you stand a chance against them." Heinrich answered. "Now retreat and wait for us at the meeting point."
The wolf girl's eyes darted back towards the two S-ranked missing nins. Using her fingers, she gestured for the party to fall back and regroup with the main force.
As exciting as it was to see S-ranks fight, she wouldn't risk her safety along with the men behind her. The group turned back around, Lunea looking behind her shoulder to watch her seniors prepare to ward off the two enemies.
…
…
…
The battle didn't go the way Prinz Eugen preferred.
A stalemate would've been better than this.
She dodged to the left, avoiding another shark that dived out of the water, then jumped back as another fireball was launched at her. The attack fizzled into the water, producing a cloud of steam that blocked her vision. Eugen couldn't see where the two mercenaries were, only having her radar registering the position of her sibling, who was also furiously retreating.
It was the worst matchup they could've possibly gone up against. Warships were built to survive on the seas, but to face someone who's entire skill set was made to control water?
Yeah. Eugen didn't fancy their chances of winning.
She primed her cannons forward and shot a few explosive rounds into the smokescreen in front of her. Explosions could be heard past the steam, their shockwaves dispersing the cloud blocking her sight. Only to find nobody was in front of her.
Eugen frowned. Even her sonar was having difficulty identifying the underwater movements of the shark-like enemy. He was fast underwater, extremely fast. His attacks were also a chaotic mess on her readings, the water structures easily blending into the liquid underneath her. Most of the time was spent dodging based on reaction.
Not to mention the other threat.
Kisame had the perfect set of abilities to directly confront the girls, so his companion settled for support.
And he was good at it.
Eugen grimaced as another flurry of elemental attacks bombarded her position, unable to block the small and numerous attacks with her cannon and anti-air guns. The magical bullets could only fire in straight lines, and she needed to see the targets to hit them. But with the constant steam cloud being generated, it was practically impossible to block all of them.
It was only due to their extreme endurance that kept the fight manageable. They were warships, and every attack on them was basically negated by their unusual composition.
They were basically bunkers, and nothing except Kisame's and Kakuzu's most devastating attacks could possibly hurt them.
Eugen jerked her head to the side, the large bandaged sword cutting the space where her head used to be. She spun on her toes, aiming to smash the large metal frame of her hull against the attacker. Kisame gaped at the insane speed she twister her armaments around, getting bashed head on by the massive superstructure and getting launched back a few meters.
"Like that? That's what you get for attacking a lady." Eugen smirked, eager to finally land an attack of her own.
"Lady, you're as crazy as they come." Kisame smiled, coughing out some blood. The attack was faster than he expected, and getting smashed by something that large was painful.
He had intended to engage the girls in melee, seeing as most of their attacks hadn't been effective. From his perspective, the girls looked too pristine. Their bodies didn't show the experienced muscles of a fighter, and Kisame could see that. Their mastery over the unorthodox ranged weaponry only supported the idea that they were used to fighting at a distance, and that they couldn't hold a proper fight up close.
Not until his first attempt at sneaking up on them that is. When Kisame launched the decapitating blow, the girl's reaction was quick. Then the follow up was both instant and painful.
He assumed the objects were lightweight weapons of magic, meaning that they shouldn't have much weight to them.
Oh how wrong he was.
The monstrosity the girls carried was heavy. The fact that they were carrying the object like paper already shocked Kisame. Even he couldn't possibly move the weird weapon.
Eugen grinned. She could tell that the man had been caught off guard. She and her sister were homunculi created by Einzbern. Designed with perfection in mind, beauty was naturally included in that pursuit. They embodied that beauty, each and every warship looking like a piece of art. Not one curve out of place in the pursuit to perfection. From a single glance, they would look like defenseless maidens, if not for the reputation they had.
This was reflected by how enemies approached the girls. Many treat them like prized targets, only to be killed. Whereas more experienced enemies like Kisame found themselves surprised after seeing a bit of their real strength.
After all, they were warships. No human could possibly outmuscle a warship.
Eugen dashed in, attempting to grab Kisame's arm and lock him in place. Kisame avoided the move, then drove Samehada in a wide arc to hit the girl square in the side. Only to stare as the attack slammed home, without much of a reaction from the warship. Eugen grabbed the sword with a grin, pulling it backwards to drag Kisame forwards. Her hand wrapped around his wrist, which suddenly turned to water. The water clone burst in an explosion, Kisame having replaced himself with the clone's position underwater.
"Men usually when I'm the one touching them...am I not beautiful enough~?" Eugen teased as her opponent swung his great sword to his shoulder.
"I don't have a thing for girls, sorry." Kisame fired back with a grin. The girl in front of him was not to be underestimated. She wasn't dangerous for her fighting ability, but for the sheer strength and durability she had. Even tanking Samehada into her side like it was nothing.
That was a feat he hadn't seen anyone do.
Looks like fighting both sisters in melee wasn't an option.
Slamming both hands together, Kisame unleashed the famed technique of his origins. "Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Before promptly bursting into water from Eugen's bullet spray.
"Tsk." Eugen grunted in annoyance. The sneaky ninja replaced himself with another water clone. Worse, she had failed to interrupt his casting, meaning that she would have to face whatever this hidden mist was.
Heinrich be careful. Kisame just used a new technique.
The message was sent to her sister via the encrypted communications module they both carried. Right after the message was sent, mist began to appear right before their very eyes. It grew so thick that Eugen couldn't even see the water a few meters ahead of her.
"It's usually the girl playing hard to get. You know~" She taunted her opponent. The man was proving to be quite the problem. The battlefield was his, and the sisters were sitting ducks out here.
Suddenly, black pieces of cloth burst out of the water, wrapping around her feet in tight knits. Eugen snickered at the attempt, easily overpowering the impressive human-strength behind them and jerking the second mercenary out of the water.
Kakuzu was pulled out and flung into the air chaotically before he released the wrappings around her feet. Eugen reached out, grabbing a piece and pulling hard. The man was dragged forward before he released the single piece of cloth tethering him to Eugen. He flipped through a few hand signs before electricity exploded out of his arm. Kakuzu slammed his hand on the water, electricity jumping across the water towards her. Eugen allowed the stream of current to hit her, shrugging the attack off like nothing.
The water around her turned turbulent, before completely collapsing underneath her. Eugen found her footing gone, falling into a ravine that appeared in the canal. She landed on her feet at the bottom of the canal, eyes widening as she realized the situation. Eugen could only prepare as the water poured back in, the entirety of the wave collapsing on top of her and trapping her underneath.
Immediately her reaction kicked in. She was still a warship, and sinking was still their weakness. Eugen gulped the last breath of air before being swallowed up by the torrent of water. The sudden pressure pushed her around like a doll, spinning the sinking warship.
After the tumultuous chaos ended, Eugen deactivated her armaments. The magical weaponry deconstructed, wafting into an incorporeal form to stop hindering her movement. Eugen rerouted some power to the sonar, blasting it into overdrive to sense any incoming attacks. Her first priority was to find her way above water before she could drown, and shark attacks would easily keep her down longer.
Eugen tensed her leg muscles and jumped up, her superhuman strength giving her enough push to cut across the water quickly.
But not quickly enough.
A group of sharks appeared on her sonar, their signature slightly more distinct than the rest of the surroundings. But it was the chaotic wake that Eugen focused on to read their whereabouts. She clenched her teeth as the entire group smashed into her, biting and gnawing at her limbs and body, ultimately slowing her ascent. Eugen jerked her limbs, smashing the water technique in their wake. It stopped her rise completely, but freed her from the threats. She waved her limbs again to push against the density around her, before another wave of sharks appeared.
She grunted as they collided, smashing her in a certain direction. Eugen held her breath forcefully, ramming into the sidewall of the canal. Her eyes twitched as another set of sharks rapidly approached to reinforce the second group.
No more holding back.
Eugen summoned her hull back, the supermassive structure instantly pulling her down to the bottom of the canal. As she sank, Eugen charged an insane amount of magical energy into her shells, intent on blowing up the canal. More sharks congested into the wave swimming after her, which she ignored. They reached the sinking warship and resumed their attacks on her body.
Eugen grimaced as they poked and prodded her with sharp jaws, and instead focused on the large concentration of energy inside her cannons.
Fire!
She braced herself against the canal wall, counting down the seconds until the delayed shell exploded. Intense pressure slammed into her as the explosion pushed water away from the middle of the canal, numerous shells simultaneously erupting across the canal's length.
After a few seconds, Eugen felt the water pull her towards the middle as it filled in the empty space. Her, with sharks and all, got dragged into the frenzied rush. At the same time, the water that shot into the sky fell into the canal, most of the volume being pushed to the sides due to the explosion's location. The large volume pushed down the water around the sides, and they in turn pressed towards the middle to equalize the pressure.
Launching Eugen and the water in the middle upward like a geyser.
Upon breaking the surface, Eugen started gasping for air. The geyser shot her high into the sky, giving her a wide view of the chaotic battle from above. Heinrich was tanking both Kisame and Kakuzu, her form covered in burns and cuts from the pair. They disengaged from her, Kisame controlling the water into a turbulent wave that shook Heinrich off balance to keep her from escaping.
She landed into the water with a crash, displacing a ton of volume herself. Eugen growled at the situation. Things were going badly for the girls, and sooner or later, they would lose if the fight continued. Kisame's control over the battlefield severely impacted their ability to mount a proper defence.
Then things took a turn for the worse.
Waters churned, and Eugen found herself in a frenzied storm of waves.
When Eugen sank underwater, Lunea's eyes saw red.
"LET GO OF ME! THEY NEED MY HELP!" She screamed, several members of the Beast Group keeping Lunea from joining the battle.
"We jump in now, we die." One of the revolutionaries warned.
"IF I DON'T HELP THEY DIE!" Lunea roared at him. Her sister figures were fighting to protect their retreat, and one of them had just disappeared from sight.
Fear took hold, an emotion that throbbed in her heart. Her vision flashed, briefly remembering the day Shirou left her. It was quick as it was painful. One day, Shirou was with them. The next, he was gone forever. Lunea didn't even know he was gone until their retreat.
Lunea had never experienced loss, her naive childlike mindset didn't comprehend the danger she lived everyday. To her, it was the norm. The life of crime, the feeling of blood on her hands. To be on the other end shook her world.
The loss broke her.
She hadn't expected to say goodbye at all.
Now here she stands, the risk of losing another.
She froze, hearing several muffled explosions occur under the water. Somewhere down there Eugen was fighting, preventing her from swimming to the surface. "GET OFF ME!" Lunea swung her arms desperately, trying to loosen the grip of several men. She had to help them. Lunea would not allow it, not another death she could prevent.
More hands grabbed her, pulling the struggling beast back. For all her ability, Lunea's strength was still that of an A-rank. Any number of shinobi could easily overwhelm her with force.
Kisame and Kakuzu engaged Heinrich, the girl being forced back by the two S-ranks fighting in tandem. The combined elemental attacks pummeled the cornered warship. They were unable to damage her, the homunculus' physique bordering steel soaking up the attacks. Heinrich replied with a few shots of her own. The energy blasts exploded at the locations of the two enemies, their instantaneous speed only negated when the targets melted into water.
Lunea could only watch helplessly as the swordsman burst out of the water behind Heinrich. Kisame pivoted on his foot, swinging his sword at full strength into the side of the Akatsuki member. She absorbed the impact, using the force to spin around and drive her fist into the gut of the kenjutsu user.
Only this time, things turned out differently.
The fist pierced the water clone, but instead of bursting into water, started glowing white.
Lunea stared as hidden explosive seals triggered, engulfing Heinrich in an explosion. A scream erupted from her throat, a desperate plea begging her allies to let her go. For a few moments, she weakly jerked her arms against their constraints. Lunea watched the scene below, waiting for Heinrich to reappear.
A sharp intake of breath ended her cry, seeing Heinrich emerge standing, although ruffled. Lunea had known the sisters were different from normal humans, but seeing them tank an explosion from point blank caught her off guard.
Suddenly, Lunea's senses prickled. The fighting underwater had ceased, her superhuman senses catching on to the lack of noise. It only lasted for a few seconds, before a source of energy slowly grew from the direction of the canal.
She wasn't the only one to notice the massive spike of energy.
One of the shinobi grabbed her from behind, forcing her down to the floor. The group braced themselves as a large blast shook the canal. Water shot up, discharging into the air from the immense pressure coming from below. Lunea cupped her ears, ringing painfully from the noise. Superhuman senses also brought its own problems, her ears receiving the blast worse compared to the others. The sound blast piercing deep and making the beast cry out in pain.
But it wasn't enough to stop her.
Lunea forced her eyes open, desperately hoping that Eugen was still alive. The explosion was massive, half the canal's volume propelled in every direction. But the water had nowhere to go, only smashing into walls and streets before returning back into the canal.
Her eyes locked on to the falling form of Eugen, the lost sister finally returning to the fight. A small spark of hope burst inside Lunea. With Eugen back, the sisters may still escape.
Heinrich breathed a sigh of relief.
Her sister was back. Even if she was confident that Eugen could fight her way out of Kisame's trap, a small part of her was still worried. Not only because of the danger, but also the memories it resurfaced.
It was eerily similar to how her friends and comrades died.
If not by injuries, then by sinking into the sea.
Those thoughts were quickly pushed aside as Heinrich turned her attention back to the sword-wielding mercenary in front of her. She defended from an onslaught of slashes, weaving through the rapid strikes. For its size, the man in front of her carried it easily. One hand on the hilt, swinging the weapon at her, and the other flipping through hand signs.
It was through this method that Heinrich and Eugen were constantly forced on the backfoot. Their stability was constantly at risk from the manipulation of the canal water.
And from the looks of the grin her opponent carried, he knew it too.
Kisame continued to send waves at Eugen, keeping her from rejoining the fight. Tendrils of thread suddenly crawled up her foot, wrapping around them tightly. From behind her, Kakuzu yanked his threads, pulling her footing away. Caught off guard at the sneak attack, Heinrich found herself falling into the water face first. Without her feet on the water, the girl was forced to wade her arms to avoid sinking. The large armaments behind her disappeared, the heavy weight along with them.
A giant sword smashed into her side, the first attack to actually earn a grunt of pain from the warship.
"Is that it? You girls barely put up a fight. I was promised a good battle." Kisame complained.
Kakuzu took the opportunity to weave more threads around Heinrich. In a few moments, her limbs were wrapped up, trapped in his signature tool. "Stop wasting our time. Let's capture the other one too."
"Tsk. Is money the only thing on your mind?" He complained, taking a step forward in the direction of the last sister.
He continued for a few more steps before stopping.
"What are you planning with that thing, little girl?" Kisame grinned widely at seeing Eugen pull out an orb.
Eugen growled. Desperation made people do stupid things, and with her back forced in a corner, the warship needed something- anything that could disrupt the current status quo.
All for a chance to save her sister.
Consequences be damned.
With a command, Eugen pulled out the only thing that could shift the battle.
…
…
…
A dense and malevolent presence crashed into everyone. The sheer sensation of rage nearly corporeal, the emotion felt throughout the area. The small skirmishes between Revolutionaries and Loyalists petered out from the fear crawling up their nerves.
Even Kisame had froze momentarily, staring at the summon.
Amidst it all, one set of eyes widened in recognition.
"Kakuzu, I'm going all out." Kisama tore the bandages of Samehada, exposing the true form of the sword underneath.
He would need it for what came next.
The ambient mana in the environment trembled in fury, matching the overflowing emotion of one very pissed off mother.
She, who could sense the pain, desperation, and fear of her daughter.
The beast looked down, staring at the man pumping a large ton of chakra into his weapon.
Lunulupae was free.